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Burns, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect

written 1780s, published 1786

Burns, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect

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  • Intro

    Scots reached a literary peak in the 18th century in the work of Robert Burns (1759–96), later acknowledged as Scotland’s national poet. This poem ‘To a Louse’ is from his first published collection: Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), also known as the ‘Kilmarnock Volume’.

     

     

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    Burns wrote both in standard and non-standard English, but is mainly celebrated for his use of Scots. This poem contains features still widespread in Scotland, such as canna (can’t), sae (so) and gae (go), and less familiar terms such as grozet (gooseberry) and smeddum (powder or finely ground grain).

     

    Shelfmark: C.39.e.38.

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